


Tempestas

by eorumverba



Series: timeline au [1]
Category: SHINee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-31 00:51:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8556145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eorumverba/pseuds/eorumverba
Summary: “Remember your fourteenth birthday?”A quiet giggle, “When we ate the entire pizza by ourselves and snuck downstairs to play Xbox at like 2am?”“Yeah, and we got caught because you were yelling about how I was-”“A giant gaping anus.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: implied abuse

Minho is never one to turn down a friend in need. Which is why he opens the door without hesitating when Jonghyun shows up in the middle of night while it’s pouring rain. It’s only when he pulls Jonghyun inside that he notices the wet on his face is from tears as well as from the rain, but he doesn’t question it; just runs for a towel and comes back to see Jonghyun standing in the middle of his living room, stiff, and dripping water everywhere. He looks so…pathetic like that, a large sleeping shirt - Kibum’s - plastered to his body, and Minho refuses to notice that he can see the dusky nubs of Jonghyun’s nipples through his white shirt made translucent by the rain. He instead peels Jonghyun’s shirt from his body and wraps him in a towel, then vigorously rubs Jonghyun’s hair with another towel until it stands up in soft, unruly spikes

“Sit here, I’ll make you some hot chocolate.” Minho waits for Jonghyun to nod and then goes to the kitchen, going through the motions mechanically. He pours chocolate syrup for exactly three seconds and then adds cold milk until the cup is almost full, then pours in two packets of hot chocolate mix and a mint. Microwaves it for 45 seconds and then takes out the mint, then microwaves for another 45 seconds. Adds nine mini marshmallows and brings out the bag of big marshmallows because he knows Jonghyun loves marshmallows by themselves. Minho sits next to Jonghyun and hands him his hot chocolate, waits patiently for Jonghyun to untangle his hands before murmuring, “Just the way you like it.”

That gets him a tiny smile and Jonghyun sips his drink before wincing, and that makes tears well up in his eyes again. Minho takes the cup from him and gathers a pliant Jonghyun in his arms and lets him cry, until his choked sobs turn into full out weeping and then back to whimpers and intermittent sniffles.

“Do you want to-”

“I just want to sleep, please-” Jonghyun’s voice is hoarse, quiet, “with you. I need…”

“Of course.”

Jonghyun is drowning in Minho’s pajamas now, and hovers between the door and the bed until Minho beckons him over.

“Thank you,” Jonghyun mumbles before slipping under the covers.

When Minho climbs in behind him and hesitantly wraps an arm around his waist, he can feel Jonghyun relax and nuzzle closer. The only thing he could think of is how small Jonghyun is in his arms.

Minho doesn’t sleep much that night, just thinking: about him, about Jonghyun, about Kibum. He will never forget how he and Jonghyun met - they’d both been entering the fifth grade and Minho had moved in next door to Jonghyun just a few weeks before school was to start. Maybe the third day since they’d moved in, Jonghyun and his older sister and his mom came over with chocolate cake that Jonghyun proudly said he’d help make (he stirred the batter and cracked the eggs _and_ licked the mixing spoon clean of batter), and after eating, Jonghyun and Minho were shooed to the backyard.

Minseok was still at soccer camp, and Sodam was deemed old enough to stay inside, even though she was only a few years older than they were, but Minho didn’t really mind, because he had Minseok’s old soccer ball and the goals he’d gotten for his birthday. Jonghyun had frowned when he saw the ball, and his scowl had deepened when Minho easily made a goal. Minho wasn’t expecting Jonghyun to shout that he looked like a frog before stomping inside, but he didn’t really care. He didn’t like Jonghyun much anyway.

Until Jonghyun came over the next day with a sullen look and a mumbled apology, and a peace offering: video games.

Minho let Jonghyun win.

* * *

Jonghyun shifts in Minho’s arms and Minho begins to stroke a gentle path up and down the dip of his side, moving slightly closer, enough to press a gentle kiss to the back of Jonghyun’s neck because he knows Jonghyun is sensitive there, and Jonghyun reacts just as planned.

“What?” Jonghyun’s voice isn’t a sleepy mumble like it should be, and Minho sighs.

But instead of asking about Kibum, Minho brings up a happier topic, “Remember your fourteenth birthday?”

A quiet giggle, “When we ate the entire pizza by ourselves and snuck downstairs to play Xbox at like 2am?”

“Yeah, and we got caught because you were yelling about how I was-”

“A giant gaping anus,” Jonghyun finishes easily, laughter in his voice, “it was Halo, right?”

“Yeah - you know, I knew you switched out our plates in the morning so you wouldn’t have the burnt pancakes.” Minho hadn’t minded, though. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Minho just shrugs and kisses Jonghyun’s shoulder again. “It’s not important, Jong. Go to sleep.”

“That was my favorite birthday party,” Jonghyun mumbles, and then silence.

Minho privately agrees, because the night of Jonghyun’s fourteenth birthday was the night he realized he liked Jonghyun. As more than just a friend.

* * *

Or rather, he didn’ t _really_ realize he liked Jonghyun until they started high school. Summer up until then was a blur of days at Jonghyun’s house and nights at Minho’s - Jonghyun had an Xbox and a PS4, but Minho had a pool and a freezer full of ice cream, so they’d spend the hot days in the basement playing video games, and the warm nights in the pool, melting ice cream forgotten on the table.

Jonghyun would always sleep over if they swam, and they’d always clamber into bed together, ignoring the looks Minseok gave them as they got older. It had been out of convenience when they were young, and a habit when they were older. And sure, sometimes one of them would hesitate on the edge of the bed, but the other would pat the spot next to them and they’d both fit in, too hot but too tired to kick the blankets away.

It had to be the summer before sophomore year that it happened, that Jonghyun hesitantly climbed under the blankets next to Minho and quietly asked if he’d ever kissed anyone.

Minho just rolled over and gave Jonghyun his full attention, shaking his head. He licked his lips absently, thinking of the soft kissing scenes in movies and sloppy ones when he’d watched porn with the volume turned low and the mouse hovering above the close window tab.

“Have you?”

Jonghyun shook his head, mumbled something about Kibum and lips and first dates, but Minho didn’t say anything. Just waited for Jonghyun to take a deep breath and then quietly ask if Minho could kiss him.

Jonghyun rolled onto his side and Minho shuffled closer and found that they were both giggling, but it was more of a nervous giggle than anything. Minho pushed Jonghyun to lay on his back and accidentally knocked their heads together when he tried to sit on him like they did in the movies.

And then he realized how close they were and that Jonghyun was looping his arms around Minho’s neck (he couldn’t reach and Minho leaned down to make it easier for Jonghyun) and then Jonghyun’s lips were against his. And there were no fireworks or anything; Jonghyun’s lips felt like they had indentations from where he’d bitten them and they were soft, and Minho tried to do the tongue thing he saw them do in porn, but it felt really…weird. Jonghyun’s tongue was soft and wet and their teeth clacked when Jonghyun tilted his head but then Jonghyun was pushing him away and Minho remembered to breathe, and Jongyun laughed again when he caught his own breath.

“That felt weird. Don’t get what the fuss is.”

Minho nodded and rolled off of Jonghyun and tried not to feel disappointed that Jonghyun didn’t like it either. It was only when Jonghyun mumbled a sleepy goodnight that Minho realized that his underwear was entirely too tight to be comfortable.

And he was next to the wall.

* * *

When Minho wakes up the next day, there’s no Jonghyun beside him, but there is the smell of eggs and some kind of meat. When he stumbles from bed and shuffles into the kitchen, there’s Jonghyun at the stove, and there’s already food at the table. Kimchi, a bowl of ramen, a plate of meat, two egg sandwiches. Jonghyun turns and gives Minho a soft smile; he’s holding two bowls of rice and Minho takes them so Jonghyun can sit.

“What time did you get up?”

Jonghyun shrugs, thinks for a bit and then shrugs again. “Couldn’t sleep. Here, eat.The ramen is all yours, and one of the sandwiches.”

Minho nods, doesn’t bother waiting for Jonghyun to start before he digs in. “I missed your cooking,” he says around a mouthful of his sandwich, “live with me.”

Jonghyun covers his smile with his hand and nods. “I wish I could, you’re so important to me…”

And then there’s silence - heavy, emotional silence. Minho breaks it with a cough, starts eating again. Damn it all.

“You know, this reminds me of when you turned seventeen, and I slept over.”

Minho stops eating and looks up at Jonghyun, and the other is staring back, completely serious.

“Why bring that up now?” Minho asks, trying not to show that his heart is racing.

“I was just…” Jonghyun shakes his head, “I wish it had been you.”

* * *

Minho’s seventeenth birthday: Jonghyun came over at about eight with a hundred dollars, a signed Super Junior album (the new one) and poster and pizza money.

“Happy birthday,” Jonghyun shoved the gifts at Minho and Minho laughed.

“You couldn’t even wrap them?”

Jonghyun shrugged, plopped himself down on the couch with a moody look on his face. “Sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Later turned out to be after pizza, after they watched a few movies on Minho’s laptop, Jonghyun curled into Minho’s side with Minho’s arm around him. 

It was only after they finished watching the second Avengers movie that Jonghyun shut the laptop, sat up and said in a quiet voice, “Can I borrow sleeping clothes?”

“Sure. You know where they are.”

“Gonna shower.” Jonghyun slipped off Minho’s bed and grabbed something from his top drawer, and in a few moments, Minho heard the shower turn on.

When Jonghyun came out, he was towelling his hair dry, dressed in only one of Minho’s short sleeved shirts. The shirt was already loose on Minho, and Jonghyun was drowning in it. A sleeve had slipped down to show his collarbones and the tan skin of a shoulder and Minho swallowed. Jonghyun slid into bed next to him and looked at Minho curiously.

“You’re not going to shower?”

“In the morning. Tell me that thing now?”

“I-“ Jonghyun took a breath, mussed his hair and made the shirt slip down more. His legs were thin and Minho wanted to bite his thigh.

“I think Kibum likes Woohyun.”

“I heard they’re dating,” Minho shrugged, “so?”

“I like Kibum.”

It took Minho only a moment to gather Jonghyun in his arms; he had known Jonghyun long enough to know the signs that he was about to cry, and just on cue, the tears started.

Twenty or so minutes later and the tears had slowed; Minho reached out to brush them away and Jonghyun’s breath caught in his throat. Minho could see him swallow even in the dim light of his room, and Jonghyun didn’t protest when Minho leaned down slow and kissed him. Definitely didn’t protest, just wrapped his arms around Minho’s neck and clambered into his lap, flushed himself close and let Minho’s tongue into his mouth too easily. With the way Jonghyun was sitting, Minho knew he would be able to feel the boner that was sure to come, tried to move away but Jonghyun chased his lips, desperate now.

Jonghyun ground his hips in a tentative circle against Minho’s and broke their kiss to gasp and pant against Minho’s neck as Minho gripped his hips hard to still him. “Please, I need-”

Minho knew he needed to forget Kibum, but he didn’t say anything, just pushed Jonghyun down to the bed and blanketed his body with his own. It didn’t take long for Jonghyun to come into the tight circle of Minho’s fist, and then they were kissing again.

Jonghyun fell asleep even as Minho kissed him goodnight.

* * *

“Why that night?”

“I always run to you with my problems, you must be sick of me.”

“Never,” Minho looks Jonghyun in the eye as he says it, “I could never.”

_I wish it had been you._

* * *

The first time Minho met Taemin was at Jonghyun’s piano recital. Minho sat in the front row and had a giant bouquet of the reddest roses available next to him. He didn’t really like classical music, but it was Jonghyun, and the way Jonghyun looked while he played was beautiful. But then, Jonghyun was beautiful no matter what he did.

Jonghyun was the last to perform and his piece was the longest, and memorized. He accepted the bouquet when he finished with a pleased, soft smile, and then there was someone next to him, the pretty girl that played just before Jonghyun did.

“Minho, this is Taemin.”

“Is this your boyfriend?” Taemin asked, voice unusually deep, for a girl’s.

“No, he’s just - my best friend.”

“Red roses mean passionate love, you know.” Taemin tilted his head back and Minho saw a pronounced Adam’s apple, frowned.

“Why are you wearing a dress?”

Taemin looked down at his pale green dress and shrugged. “It’s pretty, and I look hot. Why else?”

He had a point. Minho shrugged. “You have a point.”

“I like you,” Taemin turned to Jonghyun, “I’m stealing your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend…” Jonghyun looked up at Minho from where he was smelling the roses, and honestly, Minho fell in love with Jonghyun all over again.

“You’re so beautiful,” Minho murmured and Jonghyun flushed.

“I’m not…”

Silence as Minho stared at Jonghyun for a heartbeat too long, then looked away. When he caught Taemin’s gaze, the younger had a knowing grin on his lips.

“Good luck with that. And what’s your number, I want all the details.”

* * *

Minho’s phone buzzes and it’s Taemin, of course. “Yeah?”

“Why is Jonghyun at your house, did you finally ask him out?” Taemin’s voice is unsteady, and their voice fades into a badly muffled moan.

“Can you call me when you’re not getting laid?”

“Tell Eunsook that then-” a quick pause and then Eunsook’s voice.

“Hey Minho,” her voice is rough, and Minho can sadly imagine exactly what she’s doing to Taemin, “sorry about this.”

“No you’re not, Sookie. Tell Taemin to call me later, and no, I didn’t ask Jonghyun out.”

“Shame,” Minho brings the phone from his ear when he hears Taemin moan loud, then Eunsook comes back on, “hey, I’ll have them call you later, okay? We’re kind of busy. Taemin, stop that or I won’t let you come.”

Minho hangs up.

* * *

The first time they got drunk was during their little celebration for graduating. They were at the playground, and Minho was pushing Jonghyun on the swings. It was almost midnight, and they were probably being too loud, but they didn’t care.

Jonghyun tried to jump from the swing and fell and Minho plopped down next to him, both of them cackling.

“Fuck, I’m so happy,”Jonghyun slurred, laying his head in Minho’s lap.

“Why?”

“Fuckin…graduated, and I’m with you, and is everything spinning?” Jonghyun buried his face in Minho’s stomach and groaned, and Minho’s breath caught in his throat.

“Jjong, can you move?”

Jonghyun shook his head and nuzzled closer, humming low in his throat. “Can’t.”

“Why not?”

Jonghyun looked up at Minho and pouted, puppy eyes wide and pleading. It was so cute that Minho couldn’t help laughing. Jonghyun struggled to sit up, now scowling, but he too saw the humor (what humor?) of the situation and started to laugh as well. They ended up laying down again, Minho’s arm pillowing Jonghyun’s head, and when Minho looked over at Jonghyun, his breath nearly stopped. Jonghyun’s cheeks were flushed pink, his lips were red and his eyes were closed, a bright smile on his lips. His newly bleached hair only brought out the redness in his cheeks and lips.

“Jjong?”

Jonghyun turned his head, opening his eyes as if it pained him to do so, and he froze when Minho kissed him. But only for a heartbeat - when Minho slid his hand to the back of Jonghyun’s neck, Jonghyun gasped and began to kiss back, lips insistent and plush. Minho sat up and Jonghyun clambered into his lap, flushing them together and breaking their kiss to moan when Minho slid his hands to squeeze Jonghyun’s ass. The action made him jerk forward and then his hips were rolling steadily into Minho’s as Minho bent to bite his neck hard enough to leave a mark. There were insistent fingers in his hair and Jonghyun was tugging him back for another sloppy kiss, one that mostly had Minho swallowing Jonghyun’s moans and whines.

Minho pulled away and looked up at Jonghyun, at his reddened lips and lidded eyes, at his heaving chest and tousled hair. It was beautiful. “Jjong-”

At the sound of his name, Jonghyun flinched, then his eyes widened and he slid off of Minho’s lap, eyes cast away. “Minho, I can't…”

Minho reached out to brush his thumb across the sharpness of Jonghyun’s cheekbone and froze when Jonghyun flinched away. “Jjong-”

“Kibum and I, we’re dating, I can’t do this with you.”

Oh.

Even after Jonghyun had gone, Minho could still feel the press of his lips and the heat of his body.

* * *

Jonghyun gets back and Minho knows at once that he’s been crying. And he’s hidden it well: he’s borrowed Minho’s jogging clothes so his cheeks are flushed red from exertion, not blotchy from crying. His eyes are slightly puffy and red, but it’s allergy season, and his voice is steady, confident.

But Minho knows that Jonghyun doesn’t like jogging, and that he has no allergies. He’s known Jonghyun too long not to know that.

“Jonghyun, what did Kibum do?”

Minho has also known Jonghyun long enough to know that if he wants Jonghyun to tell him something, he can’t just brush it off when Jonghyun says he doesn’t want to talk about it. (Unless, of course, he uses their safeword, which has never happened.) Because he knows that Jonghyun wants to tell, but he just won’t, not until pushed.

“I don’t want to talk-”

“Jjong, what did he do.”

Jonghyun bites his lip, sits on the couch and pats the seat next to him. When Minho sits, he sighs. “You know how we’re really close? Well…he just gets jealous. Like that time when I slept over here when he went to London? And he picked me up while you were still asleep? He thought I was cheating on him, because we were sleeping together, and just…things like that. It had been a long time coming, really.”

Jonghyun flinches away when Minho raises a hand to pull him closer and Minho frowns. “Jjong, does he hit you?”

Jonghyun doesn’t say a word, but that is all the answer Minho needs.

* * *

Jonghyun texted Minho out of the blue, inviting him to a movie, his treat. Of course, Minho said yes, and they agreed to meet in half an hour at the theater. Minho made it there in fifteen and it seemed like only a few moments before he heard Jonghyun call out his name. Minho turned and his eyes immediately fell to Jonghyun’s hand, where it was tightly interlocked with another. And then his gaze travelled up, up to small, pink lips, a thin nose and sharp cheekbones with piercing eyes, slowly down to a translucent white shirt and black skinnies tucked into black boots.

“Minho, this is Kibum, Kibum, Minho.” Jonghyun was smiling widely, eyes squinting into crescents, and Minho could practically feel Kibum judging him.

“So you’re this Kibum Jonghyun’s been telling me about.”

“Funny,” Kibum drawled, “he hasn’t told me about you at all.”

“I didn’t say he said anything _good_.”

There was the hint of a smirk flirting with those pink lips and Kibum nodded just slightly, with what Minho assumed was grudging respect. “Let’s go, Jjongie.”

Jonghyun beamed, practically wiggling in place when Kibum’s arm came around his waist, “Okay, Bummie!”

Despite how cute Jonghyun looked, Minho couldn’t help thinking that it was the most gross thing he’d ever seen.

But maybe that was just the jealousy talking.

* * *

“Kibum came over,” Jonghyun announces at dinner, “while you were at the gym.”

“What did he want?”

“He wanted me to come back to him, he said he’s thought a lot about what he said and did, and he said he’s sorry. He said he’d do anything I asked if I just came back to him, because he loves me, and that’s the only reason why he was so jealous, because he wants me to be his. Then he started to cry.”

“What did you say?” Minho’s heart is pounding; he’s afraid and upset and…even happy.

“I told him no. I’m happy here, with you.”

Minho opens his mouth to speak, closes it and just thinks for a long moment: about him and Jonghyun and Kibum and all they’ve been through together, all the times he’s come so close to saying those five words, and didn’t. How his hesitation and buried feelings had led to this, this moment with Jonghyun close and Jonghyun’s delicious food and those five, small, life changing words are threatening to burst out of him.

“Jonghyun, I-”

_I’m in love with you._

“Thank you.”

Jonghyun looks at him and smiles, and Minho smiles weakly back.

Maybe some other time.


End file.
